A Tribute To My City

My tribute to the City of Ahmedabad on its 602nd Birthday which was on 26th February, 2013.

Submitted:Mar 2, 2013
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A TRIBUTE TO MY CITY

On 26th February 2013, the city of
Ahmedabad celebrated its 602nd birthday. Sultan Zafar Shah's son
Ahmed Shah founded this city on 26th February 1411. The city of
Ahmedabad has lots of historical as well as interesting facts
which I would like to share with my readers as a tribute to my
beloved city on its 602nd birthday.

How City Got Its
Name?

Many believe that Ahmedabad was
named after its founder Sultan Ahmed Shah, but this was not the
only reason for naming the city. The actual reason was something
different and very interesting too.

After Sultan Ahmed Shah ascended
the throne, he went upto Bharuch in south Gujarat to curb the
rebels. He camped at Ashaval while returning to Patan from South
Gujarat. One day, on a hunting expedition along with his
companions he reached the farthest corner of the forest.
Suddenly, a rabbit ambushed and frightened away the hound of
Sultan. The Sultan was impressed by this act of bravery. He tried
to link this incident with the potential and mystery of river
Sabarmati. So he decided to make it as his capital. Before
finalizing it, he sought permission of Prophet AL-Khijar through
his preceptor Saint-Shaikh Ahmed Khattu Ganjbaksh of
Sarkhej.

According to his advice, the place
was very mysterious and it could not be successfully established.
So far no ruler succeeded in doing so. The place couldn't
flourish unless certain conditions were fulfilled and if those
conditions were met the city would not only flourish and grow but
it would exist till the Judgement Day. Those conditions were: (1)
Four persons named 'Ahmed' must lay the foundation of the city.
(2) Those four person must be so punctual in offering
Namaaz/Salaat (prayers) that since their adulthood they must have
never missed even one evening Namaaz. (3) The city must be named
'Ahmedabad'. For this purpose, four persons, Sultan Ahmed Shah
himself, Shaikh Ahmed Khattu Ganjbaksh, Kazi Ahmed and Malik
Ahmed held the ends of the string from four directions. Thus, the
construction of the Royal Palace started and the foundation of
Ahmedabad was laid on 26th February 1411 A.D. Ahmedabad remained
capital of Gujarat for around 162 years till the Gujarat
Sultanate stopped being an independent sultanate. In 1572, Mughal
emperor Akbar captured the city and ended the rule of the
Sultanate.

Sultan Ahmed Shah was one of the
best rulers. During his reign the crime rate in the city was at
its nadir. During his time only one murder case took place that
too was committed by his son-in-law who murdered somebody in the
fit of arrogance when he was young. The Sultan got him arrested
and sent to Kazi for his trial. In order to avoid Sultan's
displeasure, the Kazi ordered that the accused should give 22
gold coins to the successors of the dead as a punishment. When
the Sultan learnt about it, he felt that any wealthy person could
take the undue benefit of such judgement. He considered the
judgement as unjust. Therefore, he reviewed the case of his
son-in-law and sentenced him to death by hanging and asked the
hangmen to keep the dead body hanging for twenty four hours, so
that people could see the consequence of killing someone and also
know the impartiality of the Sultan. Such was the Sultan's love
for justice.

The Most Popular
Legend

During the rule of Sultan Ahmed
Shah when the construction of Bhadra fort was going on, a Sadhu
named Baba Maneknath (who belonged to Aghori sect) who lived in a
hut on the bank of the river Sabarmati used to create hurdles in
the construction with his miracle. He stitched a mattress during
day time in parallel to the construction of the fort wall. When
he removed the stitches in the night, the wall so far constructed
fell down. Thus, the construction of the fort never got
completed.

When the Sultan learned about Baba
Maneknath, he requested him to show other miracles. Maneknath
told him that he was able to enter into a kettle like container
and come out from the narrow pipe. When Maneknath entered into
the container, the Sultan closed it from both the sides. Thus
Maneknath was captivated by the Sultan tactfully. Maneknath was
made to realize his mistake. He then promised to the Sultan that
he will not interfere with any construction work. The Sultan even
named the first dome of Bhadra Fort as 'Manek Burj' after Baba
Maneknath.

Thus Bhadra fort was built and the
Ahmedabad city, Gujarat's commercial and financial centre, was
encompassed within a fort. Bhadra Fort once believed to have 12
darwajas (gates) actually has 21 darwajas. Each of the darwaja
has beautiful carvings, calligraphy and some of them even
balconies.

Historical Symbols
(Landmarks) of Ahmedabad

Sidi Saiyyed
Mosque

This is the unofficial symbol of
Ahmedabad and the inspiration for the design of the logo of the
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. This elegant mosque was
built by Sidi Saiyed in 1573. The Jalis (window) are in rear wall
of the mosque. The Jalis have fine carving design in geometrical
and interwined tree and foliage and a palm motif. Such
intricately carved stone Jalis are not found anywhere in the
entire world.

Kankaria
Lake

Kankaria Lake is one of the biggest
man-made lakes in Ahmedabad. It was built by Sultan Kutubuddin in
15th century. The work was completed in 1451 A.D and was known as
"Qutub Hojj" or "Hauj-e-Kutub". It was used for bathing by the
kings and used to be opened to public for Wudu (ablution) for
performing Salaat/ Namaaz on Eid. There is a big mosque (Eidgah)
for performing special Eid Namaaz near Kankaria Lake. It had a
water purification system but it has been lost with the time. At
one point of the circular lake, there opens a walkway which later
merges into a garden called 'Nagina Wadi' that is located in the
centre of the lake. With an approximate circumference of 1.4
miles (2.3km), it represents the regale history of Ahmedabad. It
is a 34-sided polygon having steps which leading down to water
level.

Sarkhej
Roja

Saint Shaikh Ahmed Khattu
Ganjbaksh, the preceptor of Sultan Ahmed Shah belonged to
Sarkhej. When he passed away, Sultan Muhammad Shah started
building his Roja in 1446 and Sultan Qutbuddin completed it in
1451. The mosque was also built during that time. Sultan Muhammad
Begda liked this place very much. He made his Shrine just
opposite to Ahmed Khattu's Roja and had constructed a lake beside
it. He built palaces for self and his family on the south east of
the lake. The pillars of those palaces still exist. Saint Ahmed
Khattu's Roja is considered as the biggest Roja in Gujarat. The
brass engraving of the Roja is worth seeing. There is an open
pavilion with 16 pillars in Hindu style just opposite to the
Roja. There is an inscription on the main Roja which states :
"The whole world respects this saint". The world famous architect
Le Corbusier compared Sarkhej Roja complex to the
Acropolis.

Teen Darwaja (The Three
Gates)

The Three Gates is a royal entrance
to the city, popularly known as Teen Darwaja. The middle arch is
17.5 feet wide that even the municipal bus can easily pass
through it. Arches on both the sides are 13 feet wide. Its height
is 25 feet. There are small arches through which one can go from
one gate to the other. On the east and west of the middle gate
there are small recesses with carvings and also small towers with
carvings as we find them in the mosque. There is a terrace over
it. On both the sides, there are three balconies. There was a
roof over the gates, which was then taken out in 1877. At
present, the terrace is open.